Fluid shortening

ABSTRACT

A stabilized fluid shortening containing conditioning agents and softening agents for use in baking comprises about 4 to 14 weight parts of soft mono- and diglycerides, 2 to 8 weight parts ester emulsifier, 0 to 8 weight parts of solid stearine, and between about 40 to 100 weight parts liquid vegetable oils wherein the fluid shortening is a stabilized dispersion. The fluid shortening can be produced as a concentrate and can be hydrated with water to produce a hydrated fluid shortening.

United States Patent 1191 Norris 1 Oct. 21, 1975 Related U.S.Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 361,320, May 17,

[52] U.S. Cl. 426/549; 426/611; 426/601; 426/654 [51] Int. Cl A23d 3/00[58] Field of Search 426/194, 197, 362, 202, 426/363, 24, 26, 417, 204

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,746,868 5/1956 Cross426/194 2,968,563 1/1961 Houser 426/194 2,968,564 1/1961 Schroeder....426/194 3,145,107 8/1964 Howard 426/194 3,145,108 8/1964 Howard 426/1943,145,109 8/1964 Howard 426/194 3,185,575 5/1965 Geisler 426/1943,253,927 5/1966 Going 426/194 3,397,996 8/1968 Darragh 426/1943,407,071 10/1968 Bookwalter 426/194 3,429,714 2/1969 Nelson 426/194Primary ExaminerThomas G. Wyse Assistant Exa'MInerErnest G. TherkornAttorney, Agent, or FirmThomas M. Schmitz [57] ABSTRACT 4 -Claims, NoDrawings FLUID SHORTENING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Fluid shorteningis useful in the preparation of baked goods and bread-making processes.The function of fluid shortenings is similar to plastic shortenings inbaking processes; but fluid shortenings are much preferred for use incommercial bakingprocess due tothe ease in-handling, pumping, andmetering. Fluid shortenings characteristically are fluid at temperaturesof about 60F to lOF and should not become unstable in storage over thistemperature range or in use by separation irito two distinct liquidphases or liquid-solid phases to produce a supernatent liquid phase anda precipitate phase; Fluid shortenings should possess a stabilized fluidconsistency whereinthe viscosity remains relatively consistent over awide temperature range.

Fluid shortenings or fat composition are known in the art which suggestfluid shortenings based on hard monoand diglycerides having an iodinevalue of less than and usually about 0 to 5. Problems have occurred inconventional prior art fluid shortenings, however, wherein the fluidshortenings have a tendency to firm or solidify upon encounteringtemperatures below 50F and/or above 85F. .Other suggested conventionalliquid shortenings 1 containing stable suspensions of about 5 to 7percent finely divided saturated solid fatty acid hard glycerides lacksufficient solid fat for use in a continuous-mix bread-making process inaddition to having stability of only about 30 days. Still other priorart fluid shortenings are based on solid hydrogenated hard fats toovercome oxidation instability but unfortunately are of high viscosityand become unmanageable with varying winter and summer temperatures.

These and'other deficiencies in prior art fluid shortenings are overcomeby the fluid shortening of this invention based on soft monoanddiglycerides having an iodine value greater than about 40.

It now has been found that a stabilized fluid shortening comprisingminor amounts of soft monoand diglycerides, ester emulsifiers, andsoybean stearine dispersed in vegetable oil produces a fluid shorteninghaving substantially increased physical stability.

Further advantages are realized wherein the fluid shortening of thisinvention is particularly suitable for efficient use in thecontinuous-mix bread-making process, conventionally processed whitebreads and variety breadsfand conventionally processed buns, rolls, andbrown-and-serve rolls as well as other conventionally processedyeast-raised products.

A further advantage is that the fluid shortening maintains extendedfluidity suitable for pumping and metering wherein the fluid shorteningmay be'fpumped'di rectly from a fat storage tank without intermediateblending of the conditioning agent as th'e same is dispersed intheliquid vegetable oil with the softening agent. I

Still further advantages include excellent viscosity control achievedupon extended storage wherein'viscosity change of the shortening isminimal uponconstant cycling between 50 and l0OF.

A further advantage is that the ester emulsifier, soft monoanddiglycerides, and soybean stearine remain stably dispersed within theliquid oil over a wide temperature range.

Still further advantages include bread produced which is significantlysofter and with greater loaf volume than produced by both prior knownfluid and plastic bread shortening systems.

These and other advantages will become more apparent from the detaileddescription of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The fluid shortening of this invention containsby weight about 4 to 14 weight parts of soft monoand diglycerides, 2 to8 weight parts of ester emulsifier, 0 to 8 weight parts of solidstearine, and at least about 40 weight parts of liquid vegetable oil.The fluid shortening is a stabilized dispersion in vegetable oil andcontains a ratio of monoand diglycerides to the ester emulsifiers in therange of /20 to 20/80, and preferably of about 55/45 to 65/35 by weight.The stabilized fluid shortening is produced by melting a blend of theforegoing components at temperatures sufiicient to force a melt,votating the blend at temperatures of about 82 to 86F, and fluidizing orstehling the votated mixture to obtain substantially percent conversionto the stable beta-polymorphic form. 5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The stabilized fluid shortening ofthis invention is produced from a suitable blend of minor amounts ofsoft monoand diglycerides, soybean stearine, and ester emulsifiers, alldispersed in major amounts of liquid vegetable oil to maintain asubstantially uniform dispersion.

The soft monoand diglycerides are essential and generally are a mixtureof unsaturated and saturated glycidal esters of fatty acids typicallyderived from hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated vegetable oils such assoybean oil, corn oil, olive oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, cottonseedoil, palm oil, and like vegetable oils, and animal fats such as tallowand lard. The ratio of monoglycerides to diglycerides in conventionalsoft monoand diglycerides typically is about 40 to 60 weight percentmonoglyceride to about 35 to 45 weight percent diglycerides and minoramounts of 5 to 14 percent triglycerides, and such soft mono-, diandtriglyceride mixtures are commercially available. The soft monoanddiglycerides have an iodine value in the broad range of about 40 to 150and may be prepared from hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated vegetableoils or animal fats. Soft monoand diglycerides derived from vegetableoils preferably have an iodine number between about 65 to 150, whereasthe animal fats preferably have an iodine number of about 40 to 65. Thepreferred iodine number range of the soft monoand diglycerides isbetween about 40 and 85. Soft monoand diglycerides may be plastic inconsistency and typically may have a capillary melting point as high asF. The acid number of soft monoand diglycerides is less than 2 and theperoxide value thereof should be less than 1, in accordance withconventional specifications of monoand diglycerides commerciallyavailable.

The fluid shortening of this invention further includes between about 2to 8 parts of ester emulsifier for use as dough conditioners. The esteremulsifiers are selected from ethoxylated esters such as polyoxyethylenesorbitan monostearate, polyoxyethylene monooleate, polyoxyethylenesorbitan tristearate that are obtained by condensing ethylene oxide withsorbitan and manitan esters. Other desirable ethylene oxide condensationproducts are ethoxylated propylene glycol monoesters (US. Pat. No.3,767,822) and ethoxylated triglycerol monostearate (Patent Pending,SCM). Additional effective ester emulsifiers are sodium stearoyl-Z-lactylate, calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate, sodium stearoyll-lactylate andsuccinylated monoglycerides. The preferred ester emulsifier isethoxylated glycerides comprising monoand diglycerides and essentiallyno triglycerides although the ethoxylated glycerides may contain up toabout 3% triglycerides. Ethoxylated monoand diglycerides are oftenreferred to in the art as ethoxylated monoglycerides. Ethoxylatedmonoglycerides are the particularly preferred ester emulsifier due toexcellent functional properties imparted to bread mixes. Functionalitypertains to the ability of the emulsifier to interact and condition theprotein of the flour of bread mixes. Functionality is particularlyimportant in continuous bread-making process.

Ethoxylated monoglycerides are ethoxylated monoand diglycerides beingpolyethoxylated fatty acid esters of glycerol, predominantly mono estersof glycerol, and may be conventionally described as a mixture ofstearate, palmitate, and lesser amounts of myristate partial esters ofglycerin condensed with approximately moles of ethylene oxide per moleof alphamonoglyceride reaction mixture such as set forth in The FoodCodex and FDA Regulations, and more particularly set forth in the Eganpatent, US. Pat. No. 3,433,645, and incorporated herein by reference.The fatty acid radicals of ethoxylated monoglycerides preferably arehigher fatty acid chains having about 12 to 18 carbon atoms and theglycerol ester preferably contains about 18 to 22 moles of ethyleneoxide per mole of glycerol ester. Suitable ethoxylated monoglyceridesfor this invention have a hydroxyl value of about 65 to 80, asaponification number of about 60 to 80, an acid value less than about2, and an oxyethylene content of about 55 to 75 weight percent based onthe total ethoxylated glycerides composition. The capillary meltingpoint of ethoxylated, monoand diglycerides is between about 75 to 95Fand preferably between about 80 to 90F. Ethoxylated monoglycerides maybe prepared by reacting ethylene oxide with a monoand diglyceridemixture at temperatures of about 145 to 175C, such as suggested in theEgan patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,918, and incorporated herein byreference.

The foregoing described soft monoand diglycerides hereinbefore describedand the ethoxylated monoand diglycerides are preferably contained in thefluid shortening in a wide range of a weight ratio of about 80 to 20weight parts of soft monoand diglycerides to 20 to 80 weight parts ofethoxylated monoand diglycerides. Preferably, the weight ratio may rangefrom about 55/45 to 65/35; and the most preferred ratio is about 60weight parts of soft monoand diglycerides to about 40 weight parts ofethoxylated monoglyceride.

The fluid shortening of this invention further can includes minoramounts of solid stearine within the dispersed blend. Stearines usefulin this invention are derived from beta-tending fats such as, forexample, soybean oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, and hydrogenated lard.Beta-tending solid stearines may be identified by X-ray diffractionwherein polymorphic forms are identified using a Phillips X-rayDiffractometer goniometer coupled with a strip chart recorder. Thegoniometer has a scanning range of 17.0 to 25.0 wherein betapolymorphicform displays identifying peaks at l9.4, 23.0, and 240, respectively.The iodine value of solid stearines may range from 0 to 15 andpreferably 0 to 5. The capillary melting point of the solid stearinesadvantageously ranges from 135 to 155F, and preferably 140 to 145F. Thepreferred solid stearine is soybean stearine having an iodine number ofabout 0 to 5 and derived from hydrogenated soybean oil.

The foregoing components are dispersed within major amounts of liquidvegetable oils, commonly referred to as lipids, and primarily consistingof triglycerides wherein at least about weight percent and preferablyabove weight percent of the vegetable oil are glycidal esters. Suitableliquid vegetable oils include, for example, soybean oil, peanut oil,mustardseed oil, safflower seed oil, corn oil, and like vegetable oils.Suitable liquid vegetable oils for this invention have an iodine valuebetween about 90 to 150 and preferably to 130. The liquid vegetable oilsare liquid at room temperature and preferably have a melting point ofless than 50F. Preferred liquid vegetable oils include soybean oil, andhigh oleic safflower seed oil.

In practice, the fluid shortening of this invention is produced bymixing on a weight basis about 4 to 14 weight parts of soft monoanddiglycerides, 2 to 8 weight parts of ethoxylated monoglycerides, 0 to 8weight parts of solid .or hard stock stearine, and the balance being atleast about 40 weight parts of liquid vegetable oil. Desirably, 2 to 8weight percent of solid stearine and preferably 4 to 6 weight parts ofsolid stearine are utilized with at least 50 weight parts of liquidvegetable oil. The fluid shortening components are heated to atemperature sufficient to liquefy all of the components which usuallyrequires temperatures of about to F whereby a substantially uniformliquid blend results. The liquid blend is then passed through aswept-surface heat exchanger for quickly chilling the liquid blend toinitiate beta-crystal formation within the chilled liquid blend. Thetemperature of the blend in the swept-surface heat exchanger is quicklyreduced to at least 85F, preferably about 80 to 85F, and maintained atthis temperature until the chilled blend exits from the swept-surfaceheat exchanger. A suitable swept-surface heat exchanger for the purposeof this invention is a commercially available Votator A type unitchilling machine as described in detail in US. Pat. No. 3,01 1,896. TheVotator A unit causes fat crystals to form and become dispersed withinthe liquid vegetable oil and further initiates beta-crystal formation.The chilled blend containing fat cyrstals and having a temperature ofabout 80 to 85F is then passed to a holding tank for working by mildlyagitating the chilled blend to a product of desirable consistency. Theholding tank may be similar in construction to the sweptsurface heatexchanger and sometimes is referred to as a Votator B Unit which merelyagitates the chilled blend to allow beta-crystallization to develop. TheVotator B unit further maintains the chilled blend temperature at about82 to 88F whereby fat crystals continue to form within the chilledblend. The Votator B unit mildly agitates the chilled blend being passedtherethrough on a continuous basis for about one minute to work thechilled blend into a substantially uniform dispersion wherein the fatcrystals dispersed in the vegetable oil are in equilibrium with theliquid vegetable oil. The Votator B unit further provides for removingany localized heat released during the continued formation of fatcrystals and the temperature of the chilled blend is maintained between82 and 88F. Formation of beta-crystals within the chilled blend dependson effectively maintaining the temperature of the chilled blend between82 and 88F while passing through the Votator B unit. If temperatures ofthe blend fall below 82F, unacceptable viscosities result, whereas blendtemperatures above 88F tend to produce liquid shortenings withconsiderably reduced stability. Maintenance of blend temperaturesbetween 82 and 88F is particularly necessary in this invention due tothe varied and multiple melting points of the various components of thefluid shortening. In this regard, the soft monoand diglycerides havemelting points up to about 120F; the hard stock solid stearine has amelting point between about 135 and 155F; the ethoxylated monoglycerideshave a melting point between about 80 and 90F; and the liqiud vegetableoil usually has a melting point below 50F. Hence, it has been found thatthe temperature of the chilled blend of components must be maintainedbetween 82 and 88F, preferably 84 to 86F, while passing through theVotator B unit. The components, although having a wide variation inmelting points, appear to be effectively stabilized and uniformlydispersed within the liquid vegetable oil to provide remarkable stableuniform dispersion.

Although not intended to be bound by theory, it is believed that theliquid vegetable oil serves as a continuous-phase matrix for the othercomponents wherein the solid hard stock stearine initially crystallizeswithin the liquid vegetable oil matrix upon rapid cooling in theswept-surface heat exchanger. Upon further cooling, the soft monoanddiglycerides are believed to associate with the solid hard stockstearine so as to hold the beta-tending stearines suspended within thevegetable oil since the soft monoand diglycerides have limited affinityfor both the oil and the solid hard stock stearine. Further cooling inthe critical range of 82 to 86F is believed to cause the lower meltingpoint ethoxylated monoglycerides as well as solid hard stock stearineand soft monoand diglycerides to become suspended within the matrix ofoil providing a stabilized dispersion wherein said components are stablydispersed within the liquid vegetable oil matrix. Nevertheless,substantial deviations from maintaining the temperature of the blendbetween 82 and 86F in the holding tank result in the fluid shorteninghaving abnormally high and undesirable viscosities as well as loss ofphysical stability.

After processing is completed in the Votator B unit, sometimes referredto as Votation, the resulting stabilized uniform dispersion mixture isthen passed to a stehling tank for continuous agitation or fluidizationat temperatures between about 80 to 90F, advantageously 82 to 88F, andpreferably 84 to 86F. Fluidization continues for time sufficient forcomplete conversion of the fat crystals to the beta-crystal, that is, atleast 90 percent conversion and preferably 95 to 100 percent conversionto the beta-crystal form. Fluidization continues for extended periodsand up to about 24 to 48 hours for diluted dispersion mixtures to form acompletely stabilized suspension of predominantly beta-crystalssuspended within the liquid vegetable oil matrix to produce thestabilized fluid shortening of this invention. The resulting fluidshortening of this invention has superior stability upon repeatedtemperature cycling between 50 and l0OF and maintains the stabledispersion for at least about 3 months.

A further advantageous aspect of this invention is that fluid shorteningcontaining not greater than about 5 percent by volume-entrapped air orother gas advantageously prolonged the stability of the fluid shorteningeven longer. Physical stability was maintained, but even moresurprisingly, viscosity characteristics as a function of time andtemperature were substantially improved in low gas systems. In atemperature range of 50 to 100F, for example, fluid shortening having aviscosity of about 730 cps and having less than 5 percent entrapped airpossessed improved viscosity control over a 6-week period whereinviscosity increases were about one-half than when compared to commercialfluid shortening, containing greater than 5 percent entrapped air byvolume. Accordingly, the preferred fluid shortening of this inventioncontains not greater than about 5 percent air by volume.

A further advantageous aspect of this invention is that a concentrate offluid shortening may be produced and held in storage facilities andthereafter diluted for use in baking processes. Producing liquid inconcentrated form increases processing efficiency by necessitating lessmaterial through-put in the processing as well as conserving storagespace and energy requirements. Much shorter processing times arerealized in the melting step, the quick chilling step, in the Votator Aunit, the working step in the Votator B unit, and the fluidizing step ascompared to processing diluted fluid shortening. The fluidizing step,for example, may be reduced to about 6 hours to 24 hours when only 50weight parts of liquid vegetable oil are utilized to produce aconcentrated fluid shortening. Varying concentrated liquid shorteningscan be produced by varying the amount of vegetable oil to between 50 to100 weight parts of vegetable oil wherein 100 parts of vegetable oilrepresents full strength fluid shortening. The concentrated fluidshortening may be then stored and diluted with additional vegetable oilprior to use in baking processes, that is, increase the vegetable oillevel to about 100 weight parts in the fluid shortening mixture. Whenadditional vegetable oil is added, the diluted mixture is then againsimply fluidized at temperatures of about to F for about 4 hours to 10hours to produce a stabilized fluid shortening having completebeta-formation, that is, to percent crystals. Further advantages of theconcentrate is that even further increased stability is achieved withthe concentrate wherein the concentrated fluid shortening has increasedstability of about 50 percent over the extended 3 to 4 month stabilityrealized by the diluted fluid shortening of this invention. Theconcentrated fluid shortening comprises 4-to 14 weight parts of softmonoand diglycerides, 2 to 8 weight parts of ethoxylated monoglyceride,0 to 8 weight parts of solid stearine dispersed in at least about 40weight parts of liquid vegetable oi' to produce a substantially uniformdispersion. The concentrate is ordinarily diluted for use in bakingprocesses to provide up to about 100 weight parts of liquic vegetableoil in the fluid shortening mixture which is z desirable fluidshortening for use in continuous breadmaking process and the like.

Still a further advantageous aspect of this inventior is that the fluidshortening can be effectively hydratec with water whereby a hydratedfluid shortening systen is achieved and can be advantageously utilizedin con tinuously mixed processes for breads, buns, rolls, and the like.In addition to processing advantages, the hydrated fluid shortening, anoil in water emulsion system, provides increased functionality in thefood products wherein improved specific volume is achieved as well asimproved quality. Stabilized physical and chemical interaction betweenthe hydrated fluid shortening and other bread dough ingredients isrealized in the baking process.

Hydrated fluid shortening comprises between about 30 to 70 weight partsof non-concentrated fluid shortening with the remainder being water.Preferably, the hydrated fluid shortening contains about 45 to 55 weightparts fluid shortening mixed with about 55 to 45 weight parts water. Thehydrated fluid shortening can be produced by high-speed mixing, butpreferably is produced byvotating a blended mixture of water and fluidshortening. The blended mixture enters a Votator A unit at a temperatureof about 125 to 135F, is votated therein, and then exits at about 67 to77F. The mixture then enters the Votator B unit, is votated therein, andexits from the Votator B unit at temperatures between about 70 to 80F.The resulting votated mixture is a surprising stable hydrated fluidshortening. Apparently, votating the blended mixture of fluid shorteningand water provides a fluid homogeneous mixture in addition to achievinga reduction of betacrystal size of the lipid components which furtherimproves the physical stability and handleability of the hydrated fluidshortening. The hydrated fluid shortening is a very stable, lowviscosity hydrated fluid shortening which does not foam in use whileintermixing the same into a bread-mixing process which is a substantialimprovement over conventional hydrated shortening systems. Conventionalhydrated shortening systems very often cause considerable foaming in usethereby causing inaccurate metering while pumping as well as disposingof the foam.

The following examples further illustrate this invention but are not tobe construed as limiting the scope of this invention.

EXAMPLE 1 Fluid shortening was produced from the following ingredients:

82 lbs. of soybean oil 8 lbs. of soft monoand diglycerides having atleast 50 percent monoglyceride, an [.V. of 70, and a melting point of120F.

lbs. of ethoxylated monoand diglycerides 5 lbs. of soybean stearine.

A. The ingredients were charged into a holding tank, heated to 130F, andagitated at temperatures of l30to 135F until a molten mixture wasobtained.

B. The molten mixture was then pumped at a temperature of about 135F toa first Votator unit A wherein the mixture was rapidly cooled to achilled blend at a temperature of approximately 80to 85F.

C. The mixture was then pumped at a temperature of 80to 85F forthrough-put for working (mild agitation) through a Votator B unitwherein the chilled blend temperature was maintained at 82 to 86F toproduce a stabilized uniform dispersion. Holding time of the chilledblend within the Votator B unit was about 1 minute.

D. The fluid shortening mixture was then continually agitated at 80to90F in a stehling tank at about 16 RPM for a period of at least about 40hours to produce a stable fluid shortening.

E. The resulting stabilized fluid shortening was a substantially uniformdispersion with the following characteristics:

a. Stability After 20 hours of fluidization, there was 0 percentdissociation.

After 40 hours of stehling, there was 0 percent dissociation measured bya centrifuge test using a 50 ml. graduated test tube and centrifuging at2,000 RPM for 15 minutes.

b. Viscosity After 20 hours of fluidization, viscosity of the fluidshortening was 5 cps as measured by Brookfield Model LVT using a No. 3spindle at 60 RPM. After 40 hours of fluidization, viscosity of thefluid shortening was similarly measured to 520 cps. c. Solids FatProfile: Measurement was by American Oil Chemical Society Test No.CD-lO-57 50F yielded 7-9 SFl units 70F yielded 7-9 SFl units 92F yielded6-7 SFI units 104F yielded 56 SFI units.

d. Long Term Stability After 70 days, less than 2 percent separation byvolume resulted from centrifuging 15 minutes at 2,000 RPM. e.Beta-Polymorphic Form Conversion to the beta-crystal form was percent asmeasured by Test No. 0.0036* *Durkee lntemal Test No. 0.0036 is a testwherein the polymorphic forms are characterized using a Phillips X-rayDiffractometer coupled with a strip chart recorder. The copper targettube was operated at 30 KV potential and 15 MA current. The radiation,K, was filtered with a nickel filter. The scanning range of thegoniometer was 17.00 to 25.0 at a rate of 0.5 per minute (2 0, the angleof diffraction used for short spacings). Test samples are prepared byfiltering a sample of fluid shortening placed in a No. 5 filter paperloaded in a Buchner Funnel operating for 5 minutes at full wateraspirator pressure. The solid cake remaining on the filter paper waspacked into diffraction holders and tested. Polymorphic forms areidentified by noting the positions of the peaks on the X-ray patternwhich is a plot of intensity of diffracted rays vs. angle of diffractionrecorded. Polymorphic forms are identified in accordance with thefollowing scheme:

a form displays one peak at 215 B form displays two peaks at 21.3 and23.7

B form displays three peaks at 19.4, 23.0, and 240 B is the stablestpolymorphic form for all animal or vegetable fats.

EXAMPLE 2 Fluid shortening of Example 1 was pumped from a holding tankat a temperature of about 70F and introduced into a block process in acontinuous-mix bread formula wherein the ratio of 1.86 pounds of fluidshortening was mixed with brew of the following composition:

2 lbs. of sugar 2 lbs. of salt 3.25 lbs. of yeast 0.75 lbs. of yeastfood 67.0 lbs. of water 15/16 ppm of KlO /KBrO 0.1 lbs. of-sodiumpropionate mold inhibitor (Mycoban and spike of the followingcomposition 2 lbs. high heat milk solids 5 lbs. of sugar.

The fluid shortening of Example 1 was pumped directly from the bulkholding tank and mixed with the brew and spike of the foregoingindicated ratios in a mixing unit and thereafter introduced into adeveloper head Wherein E the energy in inch-gram L the full-scale loadin grams S the rate of compression used in the continuous-mix breadprocess. The continu- X the integrated value. ous intermixing of thefluid shortening with the brew, lspiie, and sufficient flour wherein theratios are as fol- EXAMPLE 4 grams per minute f fluid shortening (35Fluid shortening was made in a manner similar to Excent based on flour)l0 ample 1 from the following ingredients:

328 grams per minute of brew and spike 87 of soybean ml 400 grams perminute of flour. 8 lbs. of soft monoand diglycerides having at least Theresulting dough was maintained at a temperature about 0 PerFentmomzglycende and an of 65 and of about 98 to 102F and extracted into15.5 ounce a meltmg pomt of 125 F bread loafs and baked to producestandard bread loafs. 9 ethoxllated 'W K The bread loafs had increasedsoftness and increased Thls fluld was utilized m a shelf life. Furtherfavorable bread properties were realbread process slmllat to Example23nd Slmllar favor' ized including excellent volume, crumb, crust,grain, able results were achleved' texture, side walls, and flavor,excellent slicing properties, excellent bread packaging, and excellentstorage EXAMPLE 5 properties. Fluid shortening was made in a mannersimilar to Example l. The ethoxylated monoand diglycerides were EXAMPLE3 replaced with an equal amount of other ester emulsi- Bread loafs weremade in a manner similar to Examfier. The results are compared in Table2 below indiple 2 but utilizing a conventional fluid shortening basedcated as a variable of ester emulsifier.

TABLE 2 7 Specific Shock lnstron Ester Emulsifier Volume Volume 1 day 5days 7 days Score l) Polyoxyethylene 6.26 14.6 16.9 32.l 47.4 85

(20) sorbitan monostearate 2) Polyoxyethylene 6.20 16.8 19.4 38.9 50.483

(20) monooleate 3) Polyoxyethylene 6.l2 21.6 21.2 37.0 55.4 76

(20) sorbitan tristearate 4) Sodium stearoyl 6.20 40.0 l9.4 38.3 57.1 79

2-lactylate 5) Succinylated 6.00 26.7 20.0 36.6 59.1 72

monoglyceride 6) Ethoxylated (20) 6.61 7.5 16.2 28.9 46.6 88

monoglyceride on hard monoand diglycerides having an iodine valueEXAMPLE 6 of less than 5. The breadloafs were compared with bread loafsof Example 2 with the following results as tested by Test No. 0.0049.**

tional fluid shortening "Test No. 0.0049 is an lnstron procedure testfor measuring bread softness and conducted on a table model lnstron Unitcoupled with a strip chart recorder and an integrator. The CB CensorCell of the lnstron had a load range of 0-2000 grams, and the aluminumcylindrical probe was 3 centimeters by 2.5 centimeters. The test samplewas produced by placing a test loaf into a bread slicing miter box withslots and 60 slicing the test loaf into 2-inch sections. Softnessmeasurements were conducted on two segments of each loaf which adjoinsthe center slice in the direction of the closest end. The integratorreading was reported by compressing the crumb to a depth of 0.5 inch ata crosshead rate of 0.5 inch per minute with the probe positionedapproximately at the center of the slice and exactly on the testingsurface. A value E was obtained as a relative measure of softness of thebread wherein higher values of E reflect a firmer bread product. E is aunit of work or energy calculated from the following formula:

E =X/5000 L S,

Concentrated fluid shortening was produced in accordance with thisinvention from the following ingredients by weight:

40 parts of soybean oil 8 parts of soft monoand diglycerides having atleast about 50 percent monoglyceride and an [.V. value of and a meltingpoint of F 5 parts ethoxylated monoand diglycerides 5 parts soybeanstearine.

A. The foregoing ingredients were charged into a holding tank, heated toat least F, and agitated at temperatures of about 130 to F until amolten mixture was obtained.

B. The molten mixture was then pumped at a temperature of about 135F toa first Votator A unit wherein the mixture was quickly reduced to amixture temperature of approximately 80 to 85F.

C. The mixture was then pumped at a temperature of 80F to a holding tankVotator B unit wherein the mixture temperature was maintained at 82 to86F.

D. The fluid shortening mixture was then continuously agitated in astehling tank at about 16 RPM for a period of at least about 6 hours toproduce a stable concentrated fluid shortening which was thereafterpumped to a storage facility.

E. The concentrated fluid shortening was then pumped from the storagefacility to a mixing tank and mixed with 42 weight parts of soybean oilby continuous agitation in a stehling tank at about 16 RPM for a periodof at least 8 hours to produce a fluidized diluted liquid shorteningwith characteristics comparable to those obtained in Example 1, subpartD.

EXAMPLE 7 Buns and rolls were produced utilizing the fluid shortening ofExample 1 in accordance with the following formula:

6 lbs. of fluid shortening from Example 1 100 lbs. of flour 64 lbs. ofwater 2.5 lbs. of salt 3.0 lbs. of yeast 0.5 lb. of yeast food 6 lbs. ofsugar 0.3 lbs. of sodium propionate (mold inhibitor) 2.0 lbs. of milksolids non-fat.

The developed dough had excellent machineability through automaticprocessing equipment wherein the dough was not sticky and did not tearapart.

The baked buns and rolls characteristically had excellent volume, crumb,crust, texture, and shelf life.

EXAMPLE 8 Fluid shortening of Example 1 was mixed with water inproportions indicated in Table 3 below, fed at a temperature of about115F to Votator A unit, votated therein with a dwell time of about 1minute, discharged at a temperature of about 73F and fed to a Votator Bunit, votated therein with a dwell time of about 1 minute, anddischarged at a temperature of about 75F. The ratios of fluid shorteningto water are weight ratios. The resulting stability and viscosity areindicated in About 3.92 lbs. of the hydrated fluid shortening of the50/50 blend in Table 3 was mixed with the following:

Brew:

.00 lbs. granulated sugar .00 lbs. salt 3.25 lbs. yeast 0.75 lbs. yeastfood 3.73 lbs. fluid shortening of Example 1 7.00 lbs. water 0.1 lb.sodium propionate Spike 2 lbs. high heat milk solids 5 lbs. sugar Thefluid shortening, brew, and spike were continuously mixed and processedin a continuous baking process whereby the final bread product contained3.5 percent of shortening based on flour. No foaming was encounteredalthough the brew was pumped continuously for two hours in acontinuous-mix bread process. Table 4 indicates the results of testevaluations on the bread products.

The foregoing examples are illustrative of the advantages of the fluidshortening of this invention based on soft monoand diglycerides toproduce substantially uniform dispersion having increased long termstability. The examples are not intended to be limiting except asdefined in the following claims.

1 claim:

1. In combination with ingredients of a yeast raised baking product, astabilized fluid shortening having beta-fat crystals dispersed in liquidvegetable oil, the fluid shortening comprising;

4 to 14 weight parts of soft monoand diglycerides derived from vegetableoil and having an iodine value of at least about 40;

2 to 8 weight parts of ester emulsifiers selected from ethoxylatedmonoglyceride, ethoxylated sorbitan, ethoxylated mannitans, ethoxylatedmonooleates sodium stearoyl-l-lactylate, calcium stearoyl-2- lactylate,sodium stearoyl-Z-lactylate, ethoxylated propylene glycol monoesters,ethoxylated triglycerol monostearate, and succinylated monoglyceride;

2 to 8 weight parts of solid stearine; and

about 40 to weight parts of liquid vegetable wherein said soft monoanddiglycerides, said ethoxylated monoglycerides, and said solid stearineare dispersed by heating to form a liquified molten mixture followed byquick chilling to about 82 to 88F. to form beta-fat crystals and astabilized substantially unifonn dispersion within said liquid vegetableoil.

2. The fluid shortening of claim 1 wherein the ester emulsifier isethoxylated monoglyceride.

3. The stabilized fluid shortening of claim 1 wherein the weight ratioof soft monoand diglycerides to ethoxylated monoglycerides rangesbetween the ratios of about 55/45 to 65/35.

4. The stabilized fluid shortening of claim 1 wherein said fluidshortening contains less than about 5 percent entrapped gas by volume.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH INGREDIENTS OF A YEAST RAISED BAKING PRODUCT, ASTABILIZED FLUID SHORTENING HAVING BETA-FAT CRYSTALS DISPERSED IN LIQUIDVEGETABLE OIL, THE FLUID SHORTENING COMPRISING, 4 TO 14 WEIGHT PARTS OFSOFT MONO-AND DIGLYCERIDES DERIVED FROM VEGETABLE OIL AND HAVING ANIODINE VALUE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 40, 2 TO 8 WEIGHT PARTS OF ESTEREMULSFIERS SELECTED FROM ETHOXYLATED MONOGLYCERIDE, ETHOXYLTED SORBITAN,ETHOXYLATED MANNITANS, ETHOXYLATED MONOLEATES SODIUMSTEAROYL-1LACTYLATE, CALCIUM STEROYL-2-LACTYLATE SODIUMSTEROYL-2LACYLATED, ETHOXYLATED PROPYLENE GYCOL MONOESTERS, ETHOXYLATEDTRIGLYCEROL MONOSTERATE, AND SUCCINYLATED MNOGYLCERIDE, 2 TO 8 WEIGHTPARTS OF SOLID STEARINE, AND ABOUT 40 TO 100 WEIGHT PARTS OF LIQUIDVEGETABLE WHEREIN SAID SOFT MONO-AND DIGYLCERIDES, SAID ETHOXYLATEDMONOGLYCERIDES, AND SAID STERINE ARE DISPERSED BY HEATING TO FORMLIQUIFIED MOLTEN MIXTURE FOLLOWED BY QUICK CHILLING TO ABOUT 82* TO88*F. TO FORM BETA-FAT CRYSTALS AND A STABILIZING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMDISPERSION WITHIN SAID LIQUID VEGETABLE OIL.
 2. The fluid shortening ofclaim 1 wherein the ester emulsifier is ethoxylated monoglyceride. 3.The stabilized fluid shortening of claim 1 wherein the weight ratio ofsoft mono- and diglycerides to ethoxylated monoglycerides ranges betweenthe ratios of about 55/45 to 65/35.
 4. The stabilized fluid shorteningof claim 1 wherein said fluid shortening contains less than about 5percent entrapped gas by volume.